Hodge thankful he's alive after shooting, unsure of return

DENVER -- Julius Hodge sat at a table by midcourt, his left leg in a walking boot, his flesh and bones still mending from the four bullets that pierced his body in a drive-by shooting.

An ever-so-slight smile crossed his face.

"I can still shoot," he said, flipping a basketball into the air. "I'm a passer though."

Right now, he's a bystander.

The 22-year-old Denver Nuggets rookie returned to the Pepsi Center on Monday for the first time since the shooting nine days earlier. He was thankful to be alive, but wasn't sure when he'll play again.

"I want to take this opportunity to let everyone know that I'm feeling good and on the road to recovery," Hodge said at the team's shoot-around, his first public comments since the shooting.

Hodge didn't show any signs of bitterness.

"I just try to smile as much as possible every day," he said. "It's definitely a real tough time on my family and friends. I just try to pick everybody's spirits up and just try to use my laughter as a defense mechanism, try to smile and not frown a lot, or be down on myself because it's definitely a blessing I'm still here."

His arrival at the Nuggets' training facilities also brought smiles to his teammates' faces.

"It's great to see him," Marcus Camby said. "It's great to see him alive."

Hodge was shot twice in the left leg, once in the right leg and once in the left hip early on April 8 while driving on a Denver freeway after he left a nightclub. Investigators said the shots were fired from a car that pulled alongside Hodge's.

"Being from New York City was definitely tough going, and coming out here to Colorado, I was definitely thinking that was real ironic," Hodge said. "It's an unfortunate happening but it's definitely a blessing in disguise why I'm still here today, be able to talk to you guys, continue to see my mom's laughter.

"I'm very happy and I'm going to take advantage of each day that I'm here on this Earth."

Hodge refused to discuss details of the shooting because it's still under investigation.

Adams County sheriff's deputies have said they have no suspects and have not determined a motive.

Hodge said he's eager to meet with the couple who stopped and took him to a hospital.

"The police haven't given me the information yet but as soon as I get it, I would like to thank them personally," he said.

Hodge, who played at North Carolina State, was Denver's first-round draft choice in 2005, the 20th selection overall. He got off to a rocky start in Denver when a 37-year-old woman accused him of trying to sexually assault her in October, but prosecutors declined to file charges.

Hodge spent most of his rookie season in the NBA's developmental league and appeared in 14 games for the Nuggets this season, averaging 0.9 points and 2.4 minutes.

Originally, the Nuggets were optimistic that Hodge would recover by the start of the playoffs, at least to give them another body at practice. Those plans have changed.

Coach George Karl said Monday that the team will be much more cautious and that Hodge wouldn't be on the practice court anytime soon.

"Julius has had a tough rookie season but he's still an NBA player, and now we've just got to rehab him and get him strong enough to play in the summer," Karl said.

Hodge said he's trying to find a way to turn his shooting into a positive part of his life "because what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, and I'm just trying to become better physically and mentally make better decisions in life."